THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230235
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 50 lines
The Virginia Beach Health Department is warning parents to update their children's immunizations, after five children were diagnosed with pertussis, or whooping cough, in the past month.
Only five cases were reported for all of 1995, and six in 1994, said Dr. Suzanne Dandoy, the department's director. While last month's cases don't appear to be connected, such a high number is unusual, she said.
``It's hard to pinpoint what the problem is,'' Dandoy said. ``But it does mean we have pertussis in our community and it's a risk for young children.''
Pertussis is a serious - albeit rare - disease for infants and young children. Left untreated, it may lead to choking, pneumonia or fatal seizures.
The disease has largely faded from the American population because most children are vaccinated against it beginning at two months, when they receive the first of five DTP shots - protection against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk health departments said they have not had similar outbreaks.
All area health departments offer free immunizations against pertussis and other childhood diseases. Once a child has received the full series of shots, the child is fully immunized against pertussis.
Four of the children affected with whooping cough in Virginia Beach were less than three months old, Dandoy said. Three were hospitalized and all are recovering.
The bacteria that causes whooping cough are passed from person to person through the air, mostly by sneezing or coughing. Older children and adults are usually the source for infection.
During the first stage, whooping cough may be mistaken for the common cold. After about two weeks, the light cough, runny nose and low-grade fever change into the ``whooping'' stage. The disease's common name comes from the noise made by victims gasping for air.
During this stage, the child experiences severe coughing spasms or attacks, which make breathing very difficult. If the child survives the second two weeks of the disease, he or she begins to recover, but may continue coughing for weeks or months.
Nearly one-fifth of child victims develop pneumonia. Three percent have seizures, and 1 percent can suffer brain damage. The disease is fatal in about 1 percent of cases. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
ABOUT THE DISEASE
Pertussis is a serious - albeit rare - disease for infants and
young children. Left untreated, it may lead to choking, pneumonia or
fatal seizures. by CNB